Information on individual educational components (ECTS-Course descriptions) per semester

Sustainability Management

Degree programme Sustainable Energy Systems
Subject area Engineering Technology
Type of degree Master
Part-time
Summer Semester 2025
Course unit title Sustainability Management
Course unit code 072722040201
Language of instruction German, English
Type of course unit (compulsory, optional) Compulsory
Teaching hours per week 2
Year of study 2025
Level of the course / module according to the curriculum
Number of ECTS credits allocated 3
Name of lecturer(s) Babette HEBENSTREIT
Requirements and Prerequisites

None

Course content

The course focuses on tools and methods of sustainability management.

  • Fundamentals, framework and dimensions of sustainability
  • Environmental impacts and their indicators: e.g. climate change (CO2e), resource consumption
  • Goals, methods and application areas of sustainability management
  • Greenhouse gas balance of companies according to the method of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol
  • Life cycle analysis (LCA) of products and services in energy technology
Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students will be able to critically reflect on companies and products in terms of sustainability. They know methods to improve the sustainability of companies and products.

The students

  • understand the context of global challenges, especially climate change.
  • can describe important environmental impacts and their indicators.
  • know international and national regulations in the field of sustainability management.
  • can classify the most important methods of sustainability management according to application cases.
  • are able to compile a basic corporate greenhouse gas balance.
  • are able to read and critically reflect on life cycle analyses.
  • know the most relevant environmental impacts of important energy technologies.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
  • Lecture
  • Exercises
  • Reflection and discussion
  • Presentations with discussion and feedback
Assessment methods and criteria
  • Homework (60 %)
  • Oral exam (40 %)

For a positive grade, a minimum of 50% of the possible points must be achieved across all parts of the examination.

Comment

None

Recommended or required reading
  • Baumast, Anett; Pape, Jens (2022): Betriebliches Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement. 2. Auflage. Stuttgart: Ulmer.
  • Englert, Marco (Hrsg.); Ternès, Anabel (2019): Nachhaltiges Management. Nachhaltigkeit als exzellenten Managementansatz entwickeln. Leidersbach: Springer Gabler. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-662-57693-9
  • Klöpffer, Walter; Grahl, Birgit (2009): Ökobilanz (LCA): ein Leitfaden für Ausbildung und Beruf. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH.
  • Kaltschmitt, Martin; Streicher, Wolfgang; Wiese, Andreas (Hrsg.) (2013): Erneuerbare Energien. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-03249-3
  • Drexel, Christof (2018): Zwei Grad. Eine Tonne: Wie wir das Klimaziel erreichen und damit die Welt verändern. Wolfurt: Christof Drexel.
  • Felber, Christian (2018): Gemeinwohl-Ökonomie. Aktualisierte und erweiterte Neuausgabe. Wien: Deuticke im Paul Zsolnay Verlag Wien.
  • Meadows, Donella; Randers, Jorgen; Meadows, Dennis (2020): Grenzen des Wachstums - Das 30-Jahre-Update. Signal zum Kurswechsel. 7. Auflage. Stuttgart: S. Hirzel Verlag GmbH
  • Weizsäcker, Ernst Ulrich; Wijkman, Anders (2017): Wir sind dran. Club of Rome: Der große Bericht. Was wir ändern müssen, wenn wir bleiben wollen. Eine neue Aufklärung für eine volle Welt. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus.
  • Welzer, Harald (2018): Welzer wundert sich. Rückblicke auf die Zukunft von heute. Frankfurt am Main: S. Fischer.
  • Welzer, Harald (2019): Alles könnte anders sein: eine Gesellschaftsutopie für freie Menschen. Frankfurt am Main: S. Fischer.
  • Brauweiler, Jana; Zenker-Hoffmann, Anke; Will, Markus (2018): Umweltmanagementsysteme nach ISO 14001. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden (= essentials). DOI: 10.1007/978-3-658-20275-0
Mode of delivery (face-to-face, distance learning)

Presence Course